According to the World Gold Council’s quarterly report, during the second quarter of the year the largest European-listed ETFs upped their holdings of gold by 4.3%, buying 29.2 metric tons of gold, more than half of the total bought by ETFs during the quarter.
Worldwide, ETFs bought a further 45.6 metric tons of gold.
According to the Council’s Gold Investment Digest released today, there was a disconnect during the last quarter as gold posted positive returns while most commodities suffered a price correction.
Gold also demonstrated lower volatility than its long-term average, with an average volatility for the quarter of 13.4% compared to a 20-year average of 15.8%.
Juan Carlos Artigas, investment research manager at the World Gold Council, commented: “While commodities exhibited heightened levels of volatility and sharp falls in price during the month of May, gold’s volatility was modest and its price remained stable.”
Summary:
- The gold price broke new record highs during Q2 2011, ending the quarter 4.6% higher than the previous quarter;The average gold price during Q2 ($1,506.13/oz) was 8.6% higher than that of Q1 2011;
- Gold-backed ETFs saw strong net inflows adding a collective 46 tonnes of gold to a total 2,155 tonnes (worth $104.2bn) in holdings;
- Total central banks’ net purchases year-to-date have already surpassed the level seen in the whole of 2010, led by emerging markets banks;
- Gold outperformed major bond, equity, and commodity indices in developed and emerging markets alike on a quarterly basis, in dollar terms;
- On a risk-adjusted basis, gold’s performance was only surpassed by US and global Treasury bonds.
